Hey Bill, what do you think would occur if a regular-form and an Alolan-form Ninetales were bred together? Or would they not even be compatible mates since they would never interact in the wild?

They’re technically breeds of the same species, so yes, they’re compatible. What’s interesting about both forms of ninetales is actually that whether their young is fire or ice depends on two factors: which region the egg is laid in and whether or not one of the parents is holding an everstone. The more obvious of the two is the regional detail. An egg laid in Alola will always hatch into an ice-type, whereas an egg laid elsewhere will hatch into a fire-type. This may be because the unique environment of Alola triggers the shift towards vulpix’s Alolan variation, even if one of their parents is the fire-type ninetales.

As for the everstone, that is an interesting object in general when it comes to pokémon breeding. By itself, the everstone has the power to override a pokémon’s physiological shifts. Outside of breeding, this means that the everstone has the power to block evolution, even if a pokémon wants to evolve and/or is in contact with an evolution stone. When it comes to breeding, however, an everstone has the power to boost a parent’s genetic traits and “lock” them into their young. For example, let’s say you have a pikachu with Lightning Rod as its ability. Even though this is technically a recessive gene for the pikachu species, giving that parent an everstone overrides the egg’s tendency to shift towards the more dominant option of Static and instead locks it onto the same ability as the parent pikachu. Something very similar happens when breeding an Alolan and a standard variation of a pokémon. If you give an everstone to the Alolan parent, the breed of the egg will “lock” onto the genes for an Alolan variation. If, however, the standard variation is given the everstone, then the resulting egg will become a standard variation of that species.

I got both Ninetales, regular and the alola kind, they are male and female so if I breed them would they be mix breeds, or they be same as one of their parents and could use some of their other parents typing?

Ah, as I’ve said in another ask (which I admit is in queue as of this writing), it depends on the environment in which the egg is laid and whether or not either parent is holding an everstone. If the egg is laid in Alola, then the specific environmental conditions unique to Alola will cause the genes inherited from the Alolan parent to express themselves, resulting in an Alolan vulpix, whereas if the couple lays an egg anywhere else, the standard-form parent’s genes will be expressed instead, which will result in a standard-form vulpix. However, if one parent holds an everstone, then the genes of that parent will express themselves over the ones inherited from the other parent, regardless of where the nest is located. For example, if you give a standard-form ninetales an everstone and allow your pokémon to mate in Alola, then the resulting hatchling will be a fire-type, rather than an ice-type.

Incidentally, should anyone be curious, this phenomenon does not occur if both parents are of the same variation, likely due to the lack of variant genetics in the combination. For example, if both of a trainer’s ninetales are of the Alolan breed, then the resulting hatchling will be an Alolan vulpix, even if the nest is located in Kanto.

How do I stop my Ninetales from trying to burn any and all grass or bug types?

You don’t. Welcome to owning a member of the vulpix family.

Edit: Once again, my editor has informed me that there has been a rule about one-line responses for quite some time, and this is a hard rule, not one I can violate whenever I merry well please as I do with other rules such as the laws of physics.

Similar to the zangoose ask a few posts ago, it’s a good idea to understand why your ninetales might be targeting specific types and how to remedy the particular reasoning behind it. However, unlike the zangoose ask a few posts ago, ninetales are known for doing terrible things to other people “just because,” which may be why there is an extremely popular legend in practically every known culture about how pulling a ninetales’s tail will result in a thousand-year curse.

That said, if there really is no reason behind your ninetales’s behavior besides sheer amusement and a certain level of malice against specific types, then most definitely add meditative exercises to your daily routine. However, unlike the zangoose ask, your aim with these meditative exercises is strictly to teach your ninetales how to heel for periods at a time—discipline, in other words. Once she figures out how to heel, you may take her out to socialize with other pokémon, particularly the grass- and bug-types she tends to burn. If she refrains from burning them, give her a treat to reinforce what she had learned from meditation. If she sets them on fire, add another ten minutes to your next meditation. Ninetales are exceptionally intelligent pokémon; eventually, she’ll begin to realize why you’re forcing her to sit still for periods of time and either learn to listen to you … or set you on fire instead. At the very least, if she does the latter, then she may tire herself out too much to set nearby grass- or bug-types on fire.

Alternatively, she may benefit a little more than the previous anonymous’s pokémon from being paired with the types she supposedly hates. By taking in a grass- or bug-type (or even both) and making them be part of your family, she’ll be forced to confront and perhaps befriend her new partners. Of course, it’s also important to be there during their first few interactions to ensure she doesn’t set them on fire as well, but eventually, after quite some time of this, she’ll break down and come to accept her teammates.

Best of luck, anonymous!

I was wondering, do you have any advice about how to stop a pyromaniac Ninetails from setting random things on fire to see how something burns? Things that have been set on fire: homework, cellphone, PokeDex, neighbor’s fence, and various other things. Like Ninetails makes sure that no one is hurt (somehow), but still this is getting out of hand.

At the risk of saying something rather insensitive, it depends on the gender of your ninetales and whether or not there are any pokémon that share its egg group in your area. Soon after evolution, male ninetales gain the tendency to set things on fire as a mating ritual. The hotter, more numerous, larger, or brilliant the fire, the more attractive the ninetales makes himself seem to potential mates, as a healthy fire is an indicator of the health of the ninetales. (This is true for all fire-types, but it’s especially true for ninetales, who use showy displays to highlight all their traits.) This behavior will carry on until the ninetales finds a suitable mate or succeeds in winning the mate he is already attempting to woo. Therefore, there are two solutions that could resolve this issue:

Figuring out whom ninetales is trying to win over and assisting in any way possible.
Neutering your ninetales.

It is worth it to note that neutering your ninetales may stop it from setting random fires, but it may cause it to set you on fire until it understands that the process is rather irreversible. Or until you find a suitable way to apologize. It is highly recommended that you purchase an abundance of your ninetales’ favorite types of toys and food before engaging in this solution.

If a female is engaging in this behavior, however, or if your male ninetales is not interested in mating (either because it does not wish to mate or because it is already neutered), it is very likely that your ninetales is simply bored and annoyed by the attention you or other people are affording these objects. If this is the case, purchase the aforementioned abundance of favorite types of toys and food and attempt to appease your ninetales. Should this fail, spend extra time each night brushing its fur. If this fails, procure a large bag of pokénip and try appeasing your ninetales with homemade pokéblock, puffs, or poffins made with a mix of pokénip and its favorite flavors. If that fails, switch your ninetales’ ball to a luxury, friend, premier, or ultra ball, all of which are proven to soothe the contained pokémon.

If you have gone through all of these options and nothing works, then you are at the mercy of your ninetales, and your only other option is meeting a trainer with a ninetales of the opposite gender facing a similar issue. This will very likely not result in a mating, but at the very least, it will distract both of your ninetales long enough for you to get peace.

Vulpix and Ninetales

Vulpix
The Fox Pokémon
Type: Fire
Official Registration #: 37
Entry: A small, fox-like pokémon known for its beautiful tails, of which it has six when fully grown. While young, this pokémon’s fire abilities are mediocre at best, and its strongest move, Fire Blast, is roughly as potent as a charmeleon’s Flamethrower. However, in rare cases, vulpix may be born with the passive ability Drought, which allows it to subconsciously call down intense sunlight to strengthen any fire-type move used in its presence. Incidentally, this small, fox-like creature shares the aforementioned ability with the legendary behemoth of the earth, Groudon, a beast known for nearly destroying the world beneath the unrelenting sunlight it called forth. …Which is to say that the pokémon world is a bizarre and terrifying thing sometimes.

Ninetales
The Fox Pokémon
Type: Fire
Official Registration #: 38
Entry: The evolved form of vulpix, via exposure to fire stone. The legend that a ninetales will lay a thousand-year curse on you if you touch one of its tails is exactly that: a legend and therefore not true. What is true, however, is the fact that ninetales are generally sensitive about their tails and will set you on fire if you so much as accidentally brush up against one.